Page 43 - Demo

PHOENIX Page 3IIIIlUUlIllJHIlUiniUllllllllUlfllllilllUIUUIliHJanuary 17,1974L.I'U jlllO U I U I I I C 7 U I l / l W I I U l l U CIn Trees' Growth PatternBY JOHN BLACKMOREWhile the new high-pressuresodium lights continued top r o lif e r a t e th ro u g h o u tBrooklyn%u2019s neighborhood thisweek, and a variety of community groups becoming moreconcerned about their effects ontrees, the official word from theBureau of Gas and Electricity,the agency in charge of theinstallation program, remains%u201cno comment.%u201dAs was reported in last week'sPHOENIX, Martin Burell, the cityadministrator in charge of theinstallation of the new lamps,responded to the concern of thePacific Street Association withthe challenge: %u201cShow me onetree that%u2019s been hurt, or onestudy that proves that lightshurt trees.\Although it is too early toascertain whether irreversibledamage has been done, it isclear that something has alteredthe normal growth pattern oftrees in several Brooklyn neighborhoods where the sodiumlamps have been installed.Nancy Wolf, Chairwoman of theBrooklyn Heights Association'sTree Com mittee, has beenkeeping a close watch on treesalong sodium-lighted streets,since last Fall. She found thatthose branches closest to thesodium lights continued toproduce new leaf shoots wellinto December, well after theirperiod of dormancy should havebegun.This was most dramaticallyvisible along Henry Street,where new shoots were observed right up until the icestorm hit our area a few daysafter Christmas. The othernoticeable effect is that thosebranches nearest the lampshave not yet given up their Fallfoliage. Ms. Wolf and her committee are documenting thesephenomena and will check to seeif any abnormalities are apparent in the Spring.Continued growth of treespast the normal onset of theirwinter dormant period was oneof the effects predicted by astudy completed late in 1973 byDr. Henry Cathey of the U.S.Department of Agriculture. Hisstudy, %u201cSecurity Lighting and itsImpact on the Landscape,%u201dcompared the effects of severaltypes of street lighting on 18tree species. He found thatconstant exposure to streetlamps emitting larger proportions of red radiation, particularly incandescent (the lightfrom standard light bulbs) andhigh-pressure sodium lamps,dramatically upset the normalgrowth pattern of certain trees.Not only did these treescontinue to grow later and morerapidly than trees screened fromnight iighting, but that %u201cwinterdieback was severe on thelighted trees during thefollowing Spring.%u201d This\of a lessened resistance tokilling frosts and air pollutionbecause the trees nave beenrobbed of their natural dormantperiod.The trees singled out as beingmost sensitive to increasedexposure to red light include theLondon plane tree and Norwaymaples, two of tfie most commontrees found along the streets ofBrooklyn. Ginkgo trees werefound to be somewhat lesssensitive, and oaks wererelatively resistant to theradiation effects.Streetlights not containingsuch high proportions of redlight, such as the mercury vaporlamps that have been in use onBrooklyn streets since the earlyfifties, did not significantly alterthe growing cycle of trees.On the basis of their obs rvations, and in light of the-inclusions of Dr. Cathey'sreport, the Brooklyn HeightsAssociation has called upon theBureau of Gas and Electricity toconduct tests to determine theharmfulness of the sodium lightson plant and animal life. GeorgeSilver, Chairman of the BHAS tre e tlig h tin g C o m m ittee,reported that he is conducting athorough investigation on theeffects of sodium lamps and iscurrently exploring a variety ofalternatives to the potentiallyharmful lights.%u00abmiiiiuuniiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiHii iiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii %u2019 ,*%u2022%u2022%u2022-Management Vows Cooperation:O ran g e St. Up in (Franklin)The mood was optimistic at Plymouth Church last Wednesday night, by the end of the very first meeting of the Orange St. Block Association, according to Pres. Albert Tomei. Among the 100 attendents who came to discuss conditions surrounding the block%u2019s Franklin Arms Hotel, were residents of Orange St., members of the Brooklyn Heights Association the Montague St. blockAssociation and the newly formed Clark St. Block Association. Representatives of Councilmen Richmond and Steingut and State Legislators Bellamy and Pesce were also present at the meeting.! j |I Qj,i: :' %u2019*Orange Street residents held the first meeting of their new block association which is beingformed to meet the challenge of problems growing out of the presence of the Franklin Arms Hotelon their block. (Ann Mandelbaum Photo)Though they came to discuss what they considered the deteriorating conditions caused by hotel residents during the last six months, the members and friends of the new association in the north Heights remained to receive a surprisingly positive response from the Franklin Arms m anagement, whose representative at the meeting vowed a willingness to work with the organization.A public safety comm ittee headed by Steve Warner of the block was thus formed and plans were made for a January 31 meeting with Joseph Chemi, the hotel lessee, as well as with Tim Hughes of the Heights Hill Council and Tom Mullins, a worker with the hotel%u2019s alcoholic residents. The Associations members, the Social Service Groups. and the m anagement will study the situation of hotel residents and block safety in greater dep'b, they say.The 100 t. ts of the 107 room hotel on the ^ . , %u2018h side of the block near Henry St. are, unlike residents of the Pierrepont and St, George, not primarily elderly.* orty ten wilts nre under 3G years old, 25 are between 30 and 50, while 35 are over 50. Many of the tenants have been placed at the FranklinHnMWmm in%u2014nm B5I8SS5TT5B*lfTlS*rT951B5TSSST5slS!3SS8SSBS%u00aeStS3EBT.SJSSSli.3mi GO*!130 Clinton Street B ro o k lyn , New Y o rk 11701 Tel 643 1032A w e e k ly c o m m u n ity n e w s p a p e r published SO tim e s a year by A d vo cate P re s s In c. se rv in g the neighborhoodsA r m sArms by the City%u2019s Housing and Development Administration as refugees from burnt out homes or from other such disasters Tomei advises.Though a number of alcoholics reside in the hostelry, they receive counseling from the Addiction Services and other agencies. No criminals are among the residents or among the patrons of the hotel bar, the management claims.Though some association members still dispute the above claim, the Orange St. group, encouraged by the hotel management%u2019s response, the large turnout, and the amount of members signed up, decided to focus beyond mere concentration on the Franklin Arms.After a suggestion from 84th Precinct Detective Ferrantino, the membership discussed formation of a block watchers association which will probably be set up by the Public Safety comm ittee. Involvement in tenants%u2019 rights was also promised. Envirnm ent, housing, education and in formation committees were for med at the meeting, and along withtl L I ! .. . _ r . * ________ %u2022* .u i c p u u u i act i t : i y c u u u m n e e a i eplanning to report to the next Association get-together in February.aMMMfHOTtnttlKMmlMnnttHttfNMMMMNM*surro und ing Downtown Bro oklyn in eluding B o tru m H ill. Bro oklyn H eights, C a rro ll G ard e n s, Cobble M ill. F o rt G reene ar.d P a rk Slope Su b tcr.p t on is per yearA p plicatio n to M ail a%u00bb Second C la st P o ttaae R ates is Pend ina at Bro oklyn New Y o rk